Online computer database systems store various types of records, such as records of products, services, media, text documents, and so forth. In some database systems, the records are managed by different individual operators, who control the parameters by which their records are available to other database users for inspection and access. In many systems, there is continually varying demand by users for access to the records of the different operators, where the demand varies based on factors such as the location of the users, the specific attributes of each record, seasonality, and other internal or exogenous factors.
An example database in which different operators have control of database records, and users search for such records with varying demand is a database that stores records describing goods and services (“resources”) for sale, license, and reservation (for simplicity, “transaction” generally) that have or are associated with real world locations that have intangible value to the prospective consumer. Online, reservations database systems (referred to herein as “reservation systems”) provide a suitable example. One type of reservation systems is programmed to enable potential users to search the database for records of accommodations. After finding a suitable accommodation record, the potential user sends via the reservation system a request to the operator managing the record to book the accommodation described in the record that is to engage in a transaction with respect to the record. The operator may take a certain amount of time to respond to the request. Using this type of approach, there is no way that the operator or user could eliminate this time delay. In case of a high demand for accommodations in a geographic area with a short lead time, for example, high demand for accommodations available in the next 48 hours, this inherent delay can result in a loss of a transaction by an operator, and the concomitant inability of a user to find a suitable accommodation. In some reservation systems, an operator can pre-designate that an accommodation record may be booked without the operator's manual approval. However, if the operator does not pre-designate a record in this manner, it cannot be booked without the operator's manual approval, regardless of the level of unmet demand.